McCoy seeks 1st North win

Associated Press

BEREA

Colt McCoy is on his second trip through the AFC North and still searching for his first division win.

He’s 0-7. Don’t remind him.

“Trust me,” he said Tuesday. “I know my record.”

McCoy gets another chance to put a stop to his division drought Thursday as Cleveland visits the Pittsburgh Steelers at always raucous Heinz Field, where the Browns’ second-year quarterback made his NFL debut as a wet-behind-the-ears rookie last season.

Forced to play because of ankle injuries to starter Jake Delhomme and backup Seneca Wallace, McCoy had an impressive first outing against the Steelers, completing 23 of 33 passes for 281 yards and a touchdown. Two interceptions flawed an otherwise stellar opening for McCoy, who doesn’t remember much of that sunny October afternoon in the land of Terrible Towels.

“I can’t even think back that far,” McCoy said. “That was so long ago.”

McCoy reported no problems after practicing Tuesday for the first time on a sprained right knee he injured in Sunday’s 24-10 loss to Baltimore. He wore a sleeve over his knee, but didn’t seem to have any trouble running or moving in the pocket during the segment of practice reporters were permitted to watch inside the team’s indoor field house.

He’ll need to be as mobile as possible this week. James Harrison, Troy Polamalu and the rest of those black-and-gold bad boys will be after him.

McCoy has already shown he won’t be intimidated.

Two days before he faced the Steelers for the first time last year, McCoy stood in front of his teammates following practice and told them not to worry. The confident kid from Texas told them “the hay is in the barn,” using a southern expression to let them know his work was done and he was prepared.

Not everyone believed him.

“It kind of took everybody aback,” tight end Ben Watson said with a smile. “But it was him kind of taking a leadership role and letting us know that he was ready to go.”

McCoy then went out and proved he belonged against one of the league’s best defenses.

“He played well,” Harrison said on a conference call. “He gave his team an opportunity to win.”

But the Browns lost 28-10, keeping them winless in Pittsburgh since 2003, when Tim Couch was Cleveland’s quarterback and McCoy was a high school sophomore.

It didn’t go nearly as well for McCoy the second time around against the Steelers. Pittsburgh clobbered Cleveland 41-20 in the season finale, sacking McCoy five times and sending Browns coach Eric Mangini into the sunset with another loss to the team’s bitter rival.

McCoy wound up going 0-4 against division foes last season, and he’s 0-3 in 2011. As the Browns evaluate McCoy, one of the criteria they’ll use is his record inside one of the league’s toughest divisions.